What's going on at Catholic University in Washington, DC?

MOVING TO FRONT FROM MAY 4--MORE COMMENTS WELCOME

They're slashing the full-time faculty by 9%, including some "involuntary" terminations. I've heard that Philosophy is likely to fare rather well during this transition, but I don't know details. More information welcome in the comments.

A faculty committee at Catholic University of America this week resisted a controversial cost-cutting proposal that would eliminate 35 full-time professors, including those with tenure.

The report of an ad hoc committee, published late Wednesday night, is a forceful rebuke of key components of a long-simmering layoff plan that has sown division at the university, which is based in Washington, D.C., and was founded by American Roman Catholic bishops.

In its report, which was provided to The Chronicle by a professor, the committee questions whether the university has the authority to lay off tenured faculty members without either cause, a declaration of financial exigency, or the elimination of programs....

Professors at Catholic University, most of whom declined to be identified for fear of retaliation, describe the academic-renewal proposal as a particularly cold instrument that disguises a calculated layoff plan with a lot of high-minded talk about raising the university’s national profile. The provost has pushed back against that sentiment, characterizing the proposal’s critics as a vocal minority.

A key component of the plan mandates higher teaching loads for professors who work exclusively with undergraduates, freeing up those in doctoral and professional programs to teach less. If that comes to pass, consultants told the university, Catholic would have “surplus faculty” in some areas who could be laid off without reducing course offerings or cutting programs.

It's my understanding that this new caste system would benefit the School of Philosophy at Catholic U, which apparently has very close ties to the Catholic Church as well.

Comments

What's going on at Catholic University in Washington, DC?

MOVING TO FRONT FROM MAY 4--MORE COMMENTS WELCOME

They're slashing the full-time faculty by 9%, including some "involuntary" terminations. I've heard that Philosophy is likely to fare rather well during this transition, but I don't know details. More information welcome in the comments.

A faculty committee at Catholic University of America this week resisted a controversial cost-cutting proposal that would eliminate 35 full-time professors, including those with tenure.

The report of an ad hoc committee, published late Wednesday night, is a forceful rebuke of key components of a long-simmering layoff plan that has sown division at the university, which is based in Washington, D.C., and was founded by American Roman Catholic bishops.

In its report, which was provided to The Chronicle by a professor, the committee questions whether the university has the authority to lay off tenured faculty members without either cause, a declaration of financial exigency, or the elimination of programs....

Professors at Catholic University, most of whom declined to be identified for fear of retaliation, describe the academic-renewal proposal as a particularly cold instrument that disguises a calculated layoff plan with a lot of high-minded talk about raising the university’s national profile. The provost has pushed back against that sentiment, characterizing the proposal’s critics as a vocal minority.

A key component of the plan mandates higher teaching loads for professors who work exclusively with undergraduates, freeing up those in doctoral and professional programs to teach less. If that comes to pass, consultants told the university, Catholic would have “surplus faculty” in some areas who could be laid off without reducing course offerings or cutting programs.

It's my understanding that this new caste system would benefit the School of Philosophy at Catholic U, which apparently has very close ties to the Catholic Church as well.